Animation Magazine

Author: Chris Grove

  • Popular Cloth F/X Package Re-named, Re-worked

    Turbo Squid is releasing an updated version of the popular cloth f/x plug-in Stitch under the new moniker clothfx.

    The new package provides users with a multitude of advanced tools necessary to create realistic fabrics and tailor-made clothing for their characters and creatures. Modeling clothing can be done in two ways: creating the objects that represent cloth with standard 3ds max modeling methods and then applying the clothfx modifier to it; or by designing virtual clothing patterns in a more traditional way (artists can even import spline patterns from external applications) and stitching together various virtual panels to form a full garment. The plug-in is a production proven cloth simulation program developed by Size8 Software.

    Among other attributes, clothfx makes possible full collision detection (including cloth to cloth collisions) that can be run to provide instant feedback on how well cloth is performing during a simulation. Users may also stage simulations in sections to achieve the look that’s perfect for their project. clothfx has a suggested retail price of $595, and is available from Turbo Squid at www.turbosquid.com.

  • Warner Bros. Got Game

    In the better-late-than-never category, Hollywood studios seem to be finally waking up and smelling the profits when it comes to video games. For over five years now, revenues from games have surpassed worldwide annual box office receipts by a considerable margin. So for stockholders, it must have come as a pleasant surprise yesterday, that Warner Bros. Entertainment has announced the formation of its own vid game division. While SEC filings don’t break out the profit picture for each sector of the company, it’s a sure thing that WBE will significantly increase revenues and profits by bringing game development in-house. Previously the studio has licensed its entertainment properties to third parties such as game giant Electronic Arts.

    The newly minted Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc. will be headed by Jason Hall, a well-known and highly respected presence in the field. Among other things, Hall was CEO of Monolith Prods. Inc., where he worked with Warner Bros. on the development of Matrix Online, the massively multiplayer online video game based on the successful Matrix film franchise. WBIE will continue to license and co-publish titles. Now it adds development to the list of company tasks.

    “Although we have enjoyed success in the gaming world, we have barely scratched the surface,” says exec VP of corporate biz development Kevin Tsujihara in today’s Hollywood Reporter. "With these developments,” he added, “we will be well positioned to coordinate and maximize our companywide resources and approach the burgeoning interactive gaming business as a long-term strategy.”

  • Matrix Revolves on VES Nom List

    Last month, The Matrix Revolutions failed to appear on the Academy Awards Visual Effects branch shortlist, but the movie’s impressive visual effects have not gone unnoticed by the Visual Effects Society, which announced its 2004 VES Awards nomination list today. Revolutions will be duking it out with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl in the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture category.

    Following The Two Towers’ virtual sweep of last year’s first annual VES Awards, it’s no surprise that New Line’s Return of the King is in the lead for nominations again this year, though it shares that lead with Disney’s Pirates. Each of the blockbusters garnered a total of eight nods.

    VES membership viewing of the nominees and voting will take place on Saturday, February 7. Winners will be announced at the second annual VES Awards event on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at the Hollywood Palladium. The evening will be highlighted by the presentation of the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Visual Effects Society to filmmaker George Lucas. Making the presentation will be once-and-future “king-of-the-world,” Oscar-winning director James Cameron (Titanic, The Terminator 1 and 2, Aliens).

    For a complete list of noms, go to visualeffectssociety.com. Highlights of the nominated categories include:

    Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture

    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Jim Rygiel, Dean Wright, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook

    The Matrix Revolutions: John Gaeta, Kim Libreri, George Murphy, Craig Hayes

    Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: John Knoll, Patrick Myers, Hal Hickel, Jill Brooks

    Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture

    Bad Boys 2: Carey Villegas. Rob Legato, David Taritero, Layne Friedman

    Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World: Stefen Fangmeier, Robert Stromberg, Nathan McGuinness, Brooke Breton

    The Last Samurai: Jeffrey A. Okun, Thomas Boland, Bill Mesa, Ray McIntyre, Jr.

    Outstanding Visual Effects in a Television Series

    Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 7, Episode #22: Loni Peristere, Patti Gannon, Ronald Thornton, Chris Zapara

    Carnivale, Episode #1.01: David T. Altenau, Ariel V. Shaw, Thomas L. Bellissimo, Barbara J. Marshall

    ER #176008: Sam Nicholson, Kyle J. Healey, Eric Grenaudier, Anthony Ocampo

    Sea Monsters: A Walking with Dinosaurs Special: Max Tyrie, Tim Greenwood, Darren Byford, Mike Milne

    Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial

    Johnnie Walker “Fish”: Murray Butler, William Bartlett, Jake Mengers, Helen Mackenzie

    Nike “Gamebreaker”:Eric Barba, Richard Morton, Walt Hyneman, Dave Stern

    Nike “Speed Chain”: Eric Barba, Greg Teegarden, Dave Stern, Jay Barton

  • Apple Unveils New Digi Sound Tech at NAMM

    It’s not just Moby who can produce winning beats from his Manhattan apartment. In search of the perfect (and low-cost) score, more and more one-man bands are looking to off-the-shelf software to get the job done. And now Apple has added a new generation of professional audio technology to be incorporated into future versions of Apple’s existing Logic audio production software.

    “The next generation of Logic will bring (an added) level of sophistication to computer-based music production,” says Rob Schoeben, VP of applications marketing from this year’s NAMM in Anaheim, Calif. “With Sculpture and UltraBeat, Logic users will have the ability to create more dynamic and expressive sounds than ever before, and with support for enhanced Apple Loops, they’ll have the convenience and flexibility of loop composition combined with the power of a world-class sequencer.”

    Both Sculpture and UltraBeat significantly broaden the selection of sounds and integrated rhythms a Logic Pro user has to work with. They join the impressive list of award-winning software instruments included with Logic Pro, such as the EVP88 Electric piano, EVB3 Organ, EVD6 Clavinet or the industry leading EXS24mkII sampler.

    Future versions of Logic Pro will also include support for enhanced Apple Loops, the powerful open-standard file format for real-time matching of audio loops and sound effects. The Apple Loops format offers richer information than standard audio files, so users can quickly find a loop by instrument, genre or mood. Future versions of Logic Pro will be able to import MIDI performance and channel strip configuration data contained in the new software instrument form of Apple Loops. These special files can be used either as audio loops or software instrument MIDI loops, providing unprecedented flexibility for loop- based composition. With Apple Loops support, future versions of Logic Pro will easily import projects from GarageBand, Apple’s recently announced, new music application that turns the Mac into a complete recording studio allowing users to play, record and create amazing music using a remarkably simple interface.

  • DigiCel Debuts New Iteration of FlipBook

    FlipBook, a low-cost animation solution that has a lot of high-end users, has just gotten better. DigiCel Inc. has released FlipBook 4.0 promising more speed, power, ease-of-use and affordability. Virtually every aspect of the program has been enhanced.

    Scenes open up to ten times faster and the new preview modes composite at least 300% faster. Mid-scene start and stop points let users concentrate both compositing and playback to any part of the scene. And the full-screen playback and real-time WYSIWYG video output lets users preview what a movie will look like on a PC or a TV.

    "(The software) has come a long way in just a few short years," says Kent Braun, president and co-founder of DigiCel. "With the release of FlipBook 4 anyone who wants to create their own animated cartoon can use the same tools the pros do." Braun adds that FlipBook is used by students and teachers at top schools and professional animators at the Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Klasky-Csupo and Film Roman. FlipBook 3 was used in the making of The Wild Thornberry’s Movie, Rugrats Go Wild, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Disney’s Teacher’s Pet and many Disney TV series and direct-to-video features. Universal Studios is also using it for its upcoming Curious George feature.

    Camera moves, painting and special effects are all available as affordable add-ons to FlipBook. FlipBook and FlipBook Paint sell for $299, FlipBook Camera and Special Effects add-ons for $199 each. FlipBook Pro is $999. FlipBook Lite is still only $99. Competitive upgrades are also available to anyone who is still using a competing product. For more details on DigiCel FlipBook 4 please visit the DigiCel web site at digicel.net.

  • House of Weinstein Adds Toons to DVD Wing

    In a move sure to continue the Weinstein Bros. building of a studio within a studio, Miramax Home Entertainment has announced the acquisition of a new CG animated film from Tundra Prods. and Colorland Animation Prods.

    In Search of Santa is currently in the voice-casting process, according to a report in Daily Variety. The pic is about two feuding penguin princess sisters who have to come together to travel from the South Pole to the North Pole to save their parent’s throne. Santa is slated for release exclusively on DVD/VHS Christmas 2004.

    Among other things, Tundra has produced the direct-to-DVD title Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Island of Misfit Toys for GoodTimes Ent. and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. For its part, Hong Kong and PRC-based Colorland has produced more than 500 hours of animation on projects such as Wheel Squad, Tabaluga and Flipper.

    Miramax has had a good deal of success with so-called premiere DVD product (a name that seeks to differentiate product from the less-than-stellar reputation of most straight-to-vid fare). Miramax recently released the first of several DVD films based on the Bionicle line of toys. Bionicle: Mask of Light reportedly sold $25 million worth of discs in North America.

  • Can You Play Me Now? More Vid Games Phone Home

    Adding to the growing list of entertainment producers climbing on the mobile phone bandwagon, Universal Studios has inked a deal with wireless content company Mforma Group. Under the terms of the pact, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is licensing the rights to Dracula, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man and The Creature From the Black Lagoon to Mforma.

    Mforma has more than 60 wireless carrier partners for its tools, platforms and content, including Verizon, Vodafone, Orange, Sprint, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, T-Mobile, China Mobile, Bell Mobility, Telefonica and Nextel.

    In a report in today’s Hollywood Reporter, UCPG’s VP of interactive, Bill Kispert, comments, “We are very excited to have our classic Universal monsters take on new life and reach a huge and growing market of wireless gamers.”

    Mforma has deals with a number of major content providers. For example, the company recently acquired the rights to develop and distribute wireless games based on Paramount’s Days of Thunder and Beverly Hills Cop for release this year.

    Previously Mforma has based games on Paramount Pictures’ Star Trek Nemesis, The Italian Job and Top Gun. “We’re looking forward to seeing (the new titles) become just as successful and popular as our first efforts," says Sandi Isaacs, VP of licensing at Viacom Consumer Products. "We’re confident that working with Mforma will make it happen."

  • Sony Game Gets Chatty

    Massively multiplayer online gaming just got huger. Sony Online Entertainment has announced that Champions of Norrath will support USB headset voice-chat functionality during online play when it ships next month.

    “Voice chat is the final piece of the puzzle with Champions,” says Michael Lustenberger, SOE’s director of marketing. “It’s the one feature that has been most requested in the game and we’re pleased to announce its inclusion.”

    In order to support the amount of data that passes among four players talking and playing simultaneously, gamers will need a broadband connection. A network adapter for the PlayStation 2 game will also be needed. Players have the freedom to join an existing game, host their own game or join/host a private game via SOE’s matchmaking service, SOEGames.net. Alternately, up to four players can use the Multitap (sold separately) to play together on a single PlayStation 2.

    Champions of Norrath features thousands of items, weapons and spells, a wide selection of character customization options, randomly generated dungeons that create a different and unique gameplay experience with each adventure, online and offline cooperative multiplayer adventuring, and a detailed 3D engine with multiple camera angles. For more information, visit championsofnorrath.com.

  • Anime Network Extends Reach

    The Anime Network, the first channel in the nation dedicated to Japanese anime, is expanding its U.S.-market coverage with the help of Comcast ON DEMAND, the cabler’s video-on-demand service. The Anime net will rollout in Detroit, Indianapolis, Mobile, Savannah, Charleston, Huntsville, Atlanta, and Albuquerque during the rest of January.

    "Our strategy with Comcast has proven to be very effective in evolving the nation’s loyal anime fans into a substantial digital cable subscriber base," says Kevin Corcoran, president of Anime Network. "These additional markets keep us on target with our original business plan and confirm our belief that anime is much more than just a popular programming trend."

    Prior to the just announced expansion, approximately 25 hours of Anime Network programming was available to ON DEMAND customers in greater Philadelphia, central and northern New Jersey, Baltimore and portions of New England.

    The Anime Network launched in North America in late 2002, and plans extensive availability beyond its initial digital cable video-on-demand roll-out. More information about the outlet is available through theanimenetwork.com.

  • Pixar Honcho Gets Early Award-Season Prize

    The man the Walt Disney Co. definitely doesn’t want to let get away is reportedly kicking off what could be a very rewarding award season with a kudo from the Art Director’s Guild.

    Pixar Animation’s two-time Oscar-winning director and animator John Lasseter has been tapped to receive the ADG’s honorary Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award. Not given on an annual basis, the award recognizes individuals whose body of work in the film business has “richly enhanced the visual aspects of the movie-going experience.”

    In addition to overseeing all of Pixar’s film production and projects as a creative exec, Lasseter has directed Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2. He’s also slated to helm Pixar’s upcoming Cars.

    Pixar is currently in the middle of renegotiating its contract with Disney. The computer-animation studio wants ownership of all future product and a bigger slice of film profits. Disney, which has all but abandoned 2D animation, has had a very lucrative time with its association with Pixar’s groundbreaking 3D CG-animated output. Pixar’s Finding Nemo was 2003’s box office champ and is quickly amassing critics prizes as the 2004 award season moves into high gear. If Nemo doesn’t win multiple Oscars, it will be a surprise to just about everyone in the biz.

    The ADSG awards will be presented on Feb. 14 at the Beverly Hilton.

  • Danger, Will Robinson! Lost in Space Found on DVD

    If you like your sci-fi old school, help is on the way. Adding to the plethora of DVD iterations of old TV product, Fox is releasing Lost in Space today. No, not the egregiously bad 1998 Matt LeBlanc/William Hurt vehicle of the same name but the actual first season of the cheesy but hugely influential mid-1960s cult ABC series the film was based on.

    Starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart and the incomparable Jonathan Harris as the cowardly Dr. Zachary Smith, Lost in Space was the alphabet web’s answer to NBC’s Star Trek. But the analog special f/x were no match for the wizardry of the Enterprise’s transporter, photon torpedoes and Mr. Spock. Many purists maintain that the first season of the Space Family Robinson was by far the best of the show’s three seasons.

    Lost in Space: Season One is an eight-disc set with all 29 episodes from the campy cult sci-fi adventure, along with the unaired pilot episode. The suggested retail price is $79.98.

    Also up for grabs this week is the first season DVD package of the HBO Larry David series Curb Your Enthusiasm, the first season set of the classic sitcom Green Acres and the Best of Mr. Ed collection.

  • Fish Cries Wolf, King Rules

    As predicted by execs at New Line and other major studios on Monday, Sony Pictures’ claim on Sunday that Big Fish was the big kahuna at the weekend box office was quickly debunked when the actual figures rolled in.

    Sony estimated that its Tim Burton fantasy film had grossed $14.5 million, making it number one at the box office. That knocked New Line’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King down to number two for the first time in four weeks. New Line execs immediately claimed that Sony’s Sunday estimates were too optimistic. And they were proven right.

    Final numbers show The Lord of the Rings taking in $14.2 million over the weekend, $100,000 more than New Line had projected. Fish meanwhile tallied $13.8 million, about $700,000 shy of its Sunday estimates.

  • Roy Disney Reacts to Florida Closure

    As the Walt Disney Co. approaches the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, the anticipation of the party continues to be overshadowed by an increasingly bitter split between the Disney family and the Michael Eisner team that runs the company.

    The latest broadside from Roy E. Disney, Walt’s nephew, comes on the heels of Disney’s shuttering of its Florida-based 2D animation unit yesterday. In a statement released late Monday Disney commented: "Closure of the Walt Disney Florida Feature Animation facility is yet another example of Michael Eisner’s de-emphasis of creativity and total indifference to the impact his decisions have on the people who helped to make the company great. Once again, the Eisner regime has emphasized short-term gains over long-term value. The drain of talent over the past several years from the company’s feature animation department in Orlando, Burbank, Paris and Tokyo has been absolutely gut-wrenching. People are being asked to leave because management–particularly Michael–can’t figure out what to do with them. That certainly is not the fault of the talent. It is the fault of the so-called strategic thinkers at headquarters."

    As of press time, Disney execs had no comment on the Roy Disney statement. After he was forced to resign from the company board late last year, Disney released a letter he’d sent to Eisner asking him to step down as CEO.

    President of Walt Disney Feature Animation David Stainton also issued a statement about the closing of the Florida facility, saying, "(It was a) difficult decision based on what is the best strategically for our business in both the short and long term. Having the entire animation group working together in Burbank under one roof will further enhance our filmmaking process.”

    Five years ago Disney employed more than 2,000 people in its animation division. That number has shrunk to around 600.

  • Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan Team for Toon

    Spicing up its toon hit Jackie Chan Adventures, both Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) and Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) will be making guest voice appearances on the series’ Jan. 31 broadcast.

    In the episode titled “J2,” Jackie’s feisty niece, Jade, gets the surprise of her life when she comes face-to-face with the adult version of herself–voiced by Liu. The adult Jade arrives from the future, bringing knowledge of the only way to save the world from the Age of the Dragons. Once she gets over the shock of meeting her future self, Jade learns to use her grown up image in her ongoing quest for knowledge.

    As the infamous Lex Luthor on the WB’s Smallville, Rosenbaum lends his voice to Drago, the son of Shendu, who travels back in time to retrieve the magical dragon’s teeth needed to resurrect his father and ensure the future Age of the Dragons (which Jade has returned to destroy).

    Jackie Chan Adventures is produced by Sony Pictures Television for Kids WB! Jeff Kline, Duane Capizzi, Jackie Chan, Willie Chan, Brian Gersh and Solon So serve as exec. producers. The episode airs on Kids’ WB!’s Saturday morning line-up on Jan. 31, 2004 at 8:00 a.m. ET / 7:00 a.m. PT.

  • Phantom Materializes on Web

    Infinium Labs Inc. has announced the launch of phantom.net, a new web site for its next-generation Phantom Gaming Service. The feature-rich site offers consumers a preview of what lies in store when the Phantom is unleashed in 2004.

    The new web site provides visitors with the opportunity to learn more about Phantom’s products, services, specifications and developer program. “The site will evolve as we move forward to launch our online store,” says James Roberts, chief marketing officer of Infinium Labs.

    The Phantom Game Service is a system that supports games on-demand, game rentals, game demos, seamless upgrades and patch management. At launch, the Phantom is expected to be the fastest, most powerful gaming system on the market and will include a broad selection of pre-loaded games, on-demand titles and game rentals. The always-on broadband device will allow gamers a wealth of options from wireless connectivity to massive multiplayer capabilities. Users can also demo games before purchasing or subscribing.

  • Bollywood Animation Industry Gets One More Boost

    Though it’s not an earth shattering deal, the animation biz of the Indian sub-continent got a boost over the weekend with a new deal for New Zealand television. New Delhi-based Digikore Studios has signed a contract to produce a TV series and feature for Gtoyz Management Co. The Kiwi company is hoping to turn the characters of Kung Fu Millionaire, Pipsqks and Dodgy Dog into worldwide properties.

    Under the terms of the deal, Digikore expects to generate $10 million in revenue, making it one of the biggest ventures to date for an Indian animation company. Gtoyz is investing $15 million in the series. Digikore is part of the Growel group of companies, and is in the process of seeking similar deals in the U.S., Europe and Australia.

  • ADV Says “Anime Toys R Us.”

    The company that likes all things Anime has formally announced that it is opening a new division to conquer the multi-billion dollar international toy business.

    First mentioned at this summer’s Anime Expo in Anaheim, Calif., A.D. Vision’s ADV Toys division will create toys based on the company’s Japanese animation, motion picture and Manga holdings. Among other things, A.D Vision Inc., is the parent company of ADV Films, Newtype USA and the ADV Anime network.

    “We’re launching ADV Toys at an opportune moment,” says A.D. Vision president and CEO John Ledford. “Consumers who came to love Japanese animation, manga and other genre forms in their childhood and adolescence now have the resources to acquire and collect high-quality toys and models based on their favorite titles." And for younger age groups, Ledford continues, the company is developing age- and budget-appropriate toys and collectibles as well.

    Because of the company’s presence in the print and broadcast world, company execs say they have the same sort of cross-promotional opportunities available to the big entertainment congloms. “We’re able to reach consumers and potential consumers through ADV Films, ADV Manga, the monthly magazine Newtype USA, and via the Anime Network as well," Ledford notes. "It’s synergy at its best.”

  • Everquest Package Offers Sunscreen for Gamers

    Just in time for the retail-doldrums of late August, Sony Online Entertainment is releasing an all-inclusive package of EverQuest software guaranteed to keep all the game geeks off the beach.

    SOE is billing EverQuest: Evolution as an affordable, all-inclusive collection that includes the original game as well as the five current expansion packs, The Ruins of Kunark, The Scars of Velious, The Shadows of Luclin, The Planes of Power and The Legacy of Ykesha.

    EverQuest: Evolution offers players a total of five huge continents, an enchanting moonscape and many planar zones to explore. For added fun, there are 15 races and thousands of creatures to battle from fierce orcs to fire-breathing dragons. With more than 400,000 active subscribers around the globe, players can quest alone, form a temporary group or join a guild for cooperative play.

    The package is now available in stores everywhere for the suggested retail price of $29.99.

  • In Post-Modern Post World, Two CG Giants Cooperate

    In a post-production world now ruled by low-cost solutions, two formerly high-flying, high-end CG powerhouses and are getting together to boldly go where they never thought they would. Discreet and Silicon Graphics Inc., once the dominant force in computer generated imagery, are partnering to offer an open architecture system that will allow users to easily move across all platforms – Windows, Linux, Mac and Irix – without breaking a sweat.

    In the past ten years, the economics, ergonomics and aesthetics of CG work has changed radically. In the early- to mid-1990s SGI and Discreet made almost all the rules because they had most of the technology. Their systems were closed, proprietary and expensive. But the rules of capitalism took care of that. Code-writers and animators, often bristling at the high-cost and high-handedness of CG software and hardware companies in general developed their own open systems that were much cheaper to buy and use.

    With Discreet’s new relationship with SGI, post facilities will be able to use Discreet’s muscular and creative packages such as flame, inferno and flint in a much more fluid way. “The postproduction industry is moving from hourly rates to project-based assignments, which is making collaboration and file sharing really important,” says Discreet systems product manager Bill Roberts, quoted recently in The Hollywood Reporter.

    Among the key products in the partnership is SGI’s SAN Server family and CXFS shared file system, all engineered to work with Discreet software. Of particular use to EFX houses working on major films with lots of complicated and data-hogging EFX is the ability of the CXFS system to store 18 exabytes of data. That’s enough disc space for 9 million feature-length films stored at broadcast quality levels of resolution.

  • Nemo Dethrones King, Disney Fights Current with Pixar Deal

    Whatever game face they might be putting on over at the Walt Disney Company this morning, inside there’ll be more than a little concern. True, they’ve topped their own record, but at what cost?

    This weekend, Finding Nemo became the biggest-grossing animated film of all-time knocking off the previous crown-holder, Disney’s mega-hit The Lion King. But with the acrimonious negotiations between Disney and Nemo-creator Pixar far from complete, this new development will only strengthen Pixar’s hard-line. Currently, Disney and Pixar split the profits from Pixar product. Company head Steve Jobs is looking for a new deal similar to the one George Lucas has with Fox concerning his Star Wars franchise. Under the terms of that deal Fox gets a distribution fee and no cut of the profits.

    The $1 million Nemo took in this past weekend brought its domestic box office total to $329.8 million. That passed the $328.8 million The Lion King clawed up between its initial run and last year’s IMAX re-release.

    In a related story, The Matrix Reloaded shrugged off its tepid media and fan response of earlier this summer to become the highest grossing film of the year to-date. So far it has grossed $730 million worldwide, boding well for the release of the franchise’s third chapter later this fall.